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Bradwell-on-Sea, the Estuary and the wider Dengie Peninsula has changed a lot over the course of the past century. As we prepare our proposals for Bradwell B we’ve been looking back at the history of the local area.

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On the Marshes, Bradwell-on-Sea

Fig. 1

Plans for a power station in the area were hatched in 1901

Fig. 3

1901

Fig. 2

Power generation in Bradwell began in the 1960s, but the first plans for a power station in the area were hatched nearly half a century earlier! In 1901, plans for a new railway line from Southend to Bradwell included provision for a ‘Generation Station’. The scheme was never completed but shows the ambition for a power plant in Essex many decades before they were given the go-ahead!

1941

Fig. 5

Both the existing and potential future power stations at Bradwell are sited on former RAF land. Bradwell Bay Airfield was built in 1941 and served as a night-fighter station during the Second World War.

More than 2,000 people were stationed at the airfield during WWII

1944

Fig. 6

Fig. 4

1954

The United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority is established to oversee the development of nuclear power in the UK. Calder Hall, the world’s first commercial nuclear reactor, opens two years later at Sellafield.

Fig. 7

Britain has become the first country anywhere in the world to produce electricity from atomic energy on a full industrial scale

UK government

The Queen opening Calder Hall in 1956

Fig. 9

Inside the original turbine hall

Fig. 10

Reactor steel vessel welding

Fig. 12

Fig. 13

300megawatts

the designed electricity output of Bradwell A,

enough to power to 30 million 100-watt lightbulbs

Fig. 14

1957

Construction of Bradwell A begins

Located on the site of a former World War II airfield, construction of the original Bradwell power station began in December 1957. The turbine hall for Bradwell A covers the same area as one-and-a-half standard football pitches.

Fig. 15

Fig. 11

Each hour Bradwell Power Station took in 222 million litresof cold water from the Blackwater Estuary to cool its reactors

1963

Open for business

Bradwell Power Station was officially opened by Sir John Ruggles-Brise, the Lord Lieutenant of Essex, on 5th April 1963. The station has been at the heart of the community ever since, with thousands of local people having worked at Bradwell, contributing a huge amount to the local economy.

On an average day, the power generated by Bradwell Power Station was capable of powering three towns the size of Chelmsford, Colchester and Southend.

Fig. 15

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Fig. 19

The power station celebrated its 21st birthday in 1983, and to commemorate the anniversary a special booklet was produced. In that time, staff at Bradwell crafted a reputation for being innovators in engineering, creating specialist tools and techniques as part of the safe operation of the power station. Away from the station, staff had a reputation as a force to be reckoned with in local sporting fixtures, with Bradwell’s football team winning the Mid-Essex League Division 2 Cup in 1969, along with success in the local table tennis league. For many years, staff were also responsible for running an archery club for local people.

Fig. 21

1983

Bradwell turns 21

mid-essex
league division 2cup winners

Fig. 20

Fig. 22

1994

Visitors to Bradwell

Staff at Bradwell were always welcome to bring family and friends to the site for tours of the facilities, but in 1994 the team went one step further when local MP John Whittingdale opened a dedicated Visitor Centre. The Visitor Centre offered a number of exhibits and even electricity workshops for younger guests to take part in!

Fig. 25

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Fig. 23

Fig. 24

Between the opening of the Visitor Centre and the end of power generation at Bradwell,more than 124,000 people toured the facilities

UK Gov map of nuclear sites

Bradwell

Torness

Hunterson

Chaplecross

Hartlepool

Heysham

Wylfa

Sizewell

Trawsfynydd

Berkeley

Oldbury

Hinkley Point

Dungeness

2002

Bradwell A closes

After 40 years of generating low carbon electricity, Bradwell A’s reactors shut down at the end of March 2002. They have generated enough energy over their lifetime to power 15 million homes for an entire year.

Fig. 27

Fig. 28

MyBradwell aims to create an archive of the lives, memories and stories behind the original Bradwell Power Station and the wider local area. Below are some of your memories - got something you want to share? Share your memories with us using the link in the top right corner of the page.

Touring the station

Touring Bradwell

In about June or July 1965 I and a group of fellow sixth formers had a school trip to the new Bradwell Nuclear Power Station. Included in our visit was a journey underneath the ball shaped reactor container. It was very warm there and I always remember our guide saying that the next time people could go under the reactor was at least a thousand years in the future!

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Life working at Bradwell

I commenced working on 6th of January 1962 and have probably cuddled more Uranium 235/238 in my arms than one can throw a stone at! The next thirty five years seem to have flown by but I do have an excellent memory and there seems so much more to tell.

Mr Everard, former T/H foreman

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‘I helped build the power station’

One former staff member recently celebrated his 80th birthday by taking a walk along the seafront at Bradwell to the power station he helped to build! Mr Miller, now retired, was a plumber who worked on the construction of the original Bradwell Power Station.

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‘I met my wife at Bradwell!’

‘I worked at Bradwell A from Oct 2003 to 2014 as a contract Health Physics monitor [and] have fond memories of the place, being involved in defuelling to accelerated decommissioning.

I’ve many memories, but the one that stands out the most is meeting my future wife there. It’s been great to be a part of Bradwell’s journey, it will hold a special place in my heart and I look forward to construction and operation of Bradwell B.’

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Thirty years of service

Mr Twyman worked at Bradwell for thirty years, starting in 1962 when he was 15 years old. Working in the electricity department, Mr Twyman has been telling us about the underwater tunnel that separated water from the internal cooling system, and other stories from his time at the station.

The bus to work cost just six pence, and once it snowed so heavily Mr Twyman says they had to get a tractor to pull them into work!

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Sporting success at Bradwell

“I was born and grew up at Bradwell waterside. When I left school in 1958 my first job was in a bank, but I didn’t like it there. Looking for work I walked to the power station which was in the early stages of construction. Maybe my Technical Drawing O level was to be useful after all!

There was a very active Sports and Social Club at the power station and I ran the football club which played, with considerable success, in the Mid-Essex league. I also played table tennis, cricket and badminton where I met my wife, Brenda.

The time I spent at Bradwell was most enjoyable and there was great camaraderie.”

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‘Dream came true!’

“I watched the first turbine arrive as a school boy at Bradwell Primary school and always wanted to work there! The dream came true and I spent twenty years in the Instrument Department working for Colin Kenyon, the best boss I ever had!”

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To find out more about the Bradwell B proposals, to keep up to date with the project’s progress or to get in touch, please visit the Bradwell B website

Unless otherwise stated below, all images contain public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Some material is reproduced by courtesy of Essex Records office.View Copyrights